Maryland state lawmakers re-added a $10 million tax break for car purchases at the final stage of their budget negotiations. Legislators had previously decided to remove the credit to help shore up Maryland’s finances until Senator Barbara Mikulski pushed to reinstate it. Mikulski inserted a similar provision into the federal stimulus bill earlier this year. Keep reading…

A Baltimore Red Line news release touts the exciting news that Maryland will use stimulus money to demolish a portion of West Baltimore’s neighborhood-dividing “Highway to Nowhere”. In its place, leaders hope, will one day rise mixed-use development on this key transit node. In the meantime, though, the area will only get more parking. Keep reading…

DC United intends to build a new 24,000 seat stadium in Prince George’s County. This is a golden opportunity for our region to gain another vibrant, regional, walkable, urban, Metro-adjacent, transit-oriented development. Except on game days, stadiums have been centers of un-activity for the past sixty years. However, they don’t need to be like that… Keep reading…

Since it’s almost time to put on your suit/tuxedo/ballgown and party like it’s 2009, I sat down and thought about the best ways to improve transit in our region in the future. This list breaks down into two categories: near term and long term. Keep reading…

Last month, Freakonomics revisited the ridiculous argument that transit brings crime into the innocent little suburbs. More recently, Just Up the Pike followed a shooting that occurred on a Silver Spring bus recently, prompting more discussion on the possibility that mass transit increases crime. Keep reading…

Maglev? Maryland is trying to get a chunk of a federal grant to study maglev trains, for a potential Baltimore-DC express route. Ryan Avent points out how great that would be for Baltimore. His commenters wonder if it’s the best potential use of $3.2 billion. Keep reading…

Third Church first to go? Today is the Mayor’s Agent hearing on whether to allow Third Church of Christ, Scientist to tear down and redevelop their landmarked building at 16th and I. I’ll be there to watch and report. Observers think the church is probably going down; allowing a raze would also forestall civil rights litigation and legislation that might have far-reaching… Keep reading…

Historic thumbs down to Chevy Chase: The Chevy Chase ANC sent a survey to homeowners living in the proposed historic district; 77% of respondents voted against designating Chevy Chase, reports Marc Fisher. Opponents worry about the increased approvals and bureaucracy from HPO/HPRB; proponents worry about teardowns and McMansions (Fisher, for his part, believes McMansion fears… Keep reading…

Parking minimums could kill SE project: A proposed building at 801 Virginia Ave will be offices instead of condos; unfortunately, current parking minimums are higher for offices, groundwater makes digging more parking levels too costly, and without a variance, Infosnack points out we’ll just be stuck with an empty lot.
DCist agrees with parking reform: Removing parking minimums… Keep reading…

Close a road, reduce delays? We know that reducing lanes for cars can improve pedestrian safety, help a neighborhood, and lead to less traffic in the long run. But even Level of Service-minded traffic engineers can get behind closing certain roads. As the Economist reports, researchers studied Boston’s road network and determined that too many alternatives create more delay… Keep reading…

Buy a Chrysler now, and lock in your destructive lifestyle! A great Tom the Dancing Bug satirizes Chrysler’s offer to lock in $2.99/gallon gas to new buyers. How long until they go bankrupt? Who cares! Since when did US automakers think about the future? Via Richard Layman. Keep reading…

I’ve created a new version of the Transit Future map, with some updates, at the request of Maryland PIRG. This version is smaller, without all the station names, so it’s easier to see everything at once. Click on the map for a bigger version. Keep reading…

This map shows what the transportation system of the Baltimore-Washington area would look like if most of the proposed improvements are built. In particular, it includes the Silver Line to Dulles; several new infill Metro stations; turning MARC and VRE into transit-like service with frequent trains that run through from Maryland to Virginia so all commuters can reach Union Station,… Keep reading…

Update: Version 2 is now available.
Dan at BeyondDC was one of several people to comment that Metrorail is not the most cost-effective way to provide transit. In fact, it’s pretty darn cost-ineffective. So while it’s fun to dream about Metro lines everywhere, what’s a more achievable transit vision?
There are two areas officials want to improve transit,… Keep reading…